DA refers rent-rebate-for-vote complaint to attorney general’s office

Bonnie White, mayor of Kerrville, is facing a challenger in her bid for reelection in the May 2018 city elections.

Bonnie White, mayor of Kerrville, is facing a challenger in her bid for reelection in the May 2018 city elections.

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Bill Blackburn, candidate for kerrville mayor,

Bill Blackburn, candidate for kerrville mayor,

Photo: Courtesy, Aaron Yates

DA refers rent-rebate-for-vote complaint to attorney general’s office

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KERRVILLE — Reflecting the intensity of local election campaigning, a criminal complaint has been lodged over rent rebates of $20 that were offered to tenants of four apartment complexes to reward them if they vote May 5.

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The apartments had meet-and-greet events for the candidate slate led by Bill Blackburn, who is challenging incumbent Mayor Bonnie White. Three council seats are at stake.

An attorney for the MacDonald Companies, which owns the complexes, insisted the rebates were perfectly legal, but confirmed that the offer advertised in apartment newsletters has been rescinded.

District Attorney Lucy Wilke on Wednesday said she referred to the state attorney general’s office a complaint she received from an unspecified source that alleged the rebate offer violated state penal code provisions on bribery.

The statute cited states, “A person commits an offense if he intentionally or knowingly offers, confers, or agrees to confer on another, or solicits, accepts or agrees to accept from another: any benefit as consideration for the recipient’s decision, opinion, recommendation, vote or other exercise of discretion as a public servant, party official or voter.”

Wilke said her request for AG assistance doesn’t reflect whether or not she felt the complaint had merit. Rather, her office lacks the resources to investigate the matter, she said, and she has a conflict of interest in that she knows parties involved.

Sam Taylor of the Texas Secretary of State's Office said he couldn't comment on the rebate issue without knowing all the facts, but said, “Our office strongly discourages offering any kind of financial benefit for voting, as it may constitute a violation of the Texas Penal Code on bribery.”

White, elected mayor in 2016, brought the issue to light last week in a letter to the local newspaper that bore the heading, “Paying for votes?”

It quoted The Meadows Apartments’ April newsletter as telling tenants, “Remember, when you vote in the city election to bring in the ‘I voted’ sticker to get a $20 rent rebate.”

“Is this legal?” wrote White, describing herself as astonished by the offer. “I wonder if the owner of the facility knows this is happening.”

Former Councilman Justin MacDonald, who co-owns the apartments with his father, Granger MacDonald, declined to discuss the rebate offer Wednesday beyond saying he isn’t publicly backing any candidates.

His lawyer, Steve Schulte, said the rebates were legal because the payments weren’t conditional on who a tenant voted for. “We’re trying to motivate people to vote,” he said, citing traditionally low local turnout for elections.

He said Blackburn and running mates Judy Eychner and Delayne Sigerman had requested the meet-and-greet events be held by The Meadows, The Gardens at Clearwater, Heritage Oaks Apartments and Paseo De Paz.

“This wasn’t an invitation sent out to everybody,” Schulte said last week.

Since then, the rebate offer has been rescinded and invitations to appear at similar apartment events were extended to White and Gary Cooper, who faces Eychner in Place 3. They declined the April 17 offer.

White sees the rebate plan as promoting the candidacies of Blackburn, Eychner and Sigerman, noting the $20 offer appeared in newsletters beside notices about their upcoming appearances at the complexes.

“Anybody that reads this can connect the dots,” she said Wednesday, noting $20 would come in handy for the many low-income tenants at the four complexes. “I’m concerned about it. That’s a lot of voters.”

Blackburn did not respond to requests for comment.

Wilke said the AG’s office won’t look at the case until after May 5 due to a backlog.